Looking for my Slovenian ancestors
Hello!
Earlier this week, I uncovered the fact that my grandfather was from Slovenia. This is VERY exciting because prior to that, we only knew he was from Yugoslavia. (Even his own daughter, my mother, didn't know!) I am very eager to know more and find out where to start and I'm hoping someone can help.
I know very little about my grandfather. He and his siblings were left to be taken care of by people in their village at a young age after their mother broke her back and died. (Bless the people in their town!) He did not speak of his life in Yugoslavia - or his family - only that this mother died when he was young. Sadly, because he had such a hard life and because of an undiagnosed mental illness, it was not easy or possible to have a deep relationship with him. But he was my grandfather and I do want to know more about my family. For some reason, I find doing this research therapeutic and as a way to connect with him before his life got so hard. My grandfather had four pictures in his possession when he passed away: one of his mother, one of his sister, one of his brother with his wife, and the last one *might* be his father with an unknown woman. My grandfather came to America after WWII but I don't know what become of his siblings.
Here is what I do know about my grandfather, Anton Pavčič:
- He was born on December 29, 1921. He was born in Petrovče, Slovenia. (I found his town listed in paperwork in documents of displaced people persecuted by Germans.)
- His sister's name was Angela and his brother's name was Franc. His mother's name was Angela Virant. On my grandfather's death record, it said his father's name was also Anton. I don't think the birth records from my grandfather's town as online yet so I don't know that I can find more information on Angela and Franc. I only know that they were born between 1922 and 1928. (His mother died in 1930.)
- I found a record of a "Turk Pavčič, Angela" that listed Celje, as her birthplace. This person immigrated to Argentina and I am wondering if this may be his sister. That same record listed two dependents, Ludmila and I think the other name is Vida.
Thank you for any assistance or guidance you can provide!
Commenti
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Hi!
Were your ancestors by chance Catholic? If so, it looks like there are some records available. According to the GenTeam gazetteer (here's a link to a How to guide explaining how to use that resource -https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/1/13/1-Genteam_Gazetteer-Instruction.pdf), the Roman Catholic parish for Petrovce was in the nearby town of Zalec. Those records are online and available through a website called Metricula - https://data.matricula-online.eu/de/slovenia/maribor/zalec/, but it looks like the latest records I'm seeing there only go until 1916.
That's about as much as I know about research in Slovenia, but we do have specialists at the Family History Library that know more than I do. You can schedule a free online consultation with one of them at: https://www.familysearch.org/en/family-history-library/research-help
Hope this helps!
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